The New Law
by AilsaElisabeth
Summary: When Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger recieve invitations to return to Hogwarts, they are both very excited. Both are looking forward to a new start in life. What they don't know, however, is that there is a new law coming in. Every person between the ages of 17 and 35 has to have a baby within the next year! Ministry assigned, unexpected partnerships occur... HG/DM EWE
1. Chapter One- Returning

Chapter One

Returning

Hermione Granger sighed as she looked around her parents' old house one last time. _I'm... I'm not sure I should have sold it..._ she thought as she remembered all of the times she had shared with her family in this house._ There's just too much, though. Too many memories, too much space. I need a fresh start._

Tears came to her eyes as she remembered all the memories that were held in this place. She would never forget them. Ever.

Her parents had died in the war, after being hunted by Death Eaters and killed mercilessly. She only hoped that it had been quick and painless, not drawn out like some of the murders were. Her parents were good people. Their only sin, in the eyes of the Death Eaters, was that they were muggles, and the parents of Hermione Granger. Hermione still couldn't figure out how they had managed to find her parents in Australia, where they were at the time they were killed_. They weren't even under their real names! How could they find them? I thought.. I thought I had protected them._

Tears were streaming down her face now, but she furiously blinked them away. She knew her parents wouldn't want her to think of that on a day like this, the day she would finally return to Hogwarts. She glanced around one more time before walking to the doorway, stopping, and whispering, 'Bye Mum. Bye Dad. I love you.'

Draco Malfoy had been pacing around his penthouse for the last half hour, trying to make up his mind as to whether or not to return to his real home, where he had grown up. He needed to go back there. He knew that, but it was so hard. _So hard. To visit the place where Voldemort had been, where the last few years of my life had been taken, where the most important person in the world to me had..._

He stopped, blinked, and made up his mind in that instant. He had to go back, now, or he would crack. Draco needed to tie up those loose ends of his life before starting afresh.

His mind was concentrated on that place, and in a stomach-lurching instant, he was there. Malfoy Manor. He shivered as he looked up at the gates. They seemed to lean over on top of his tall frame, menacing and cold. He refused to be intimidated. Draco knew what he had to do.

His feet wove an automatic path through the estate grounds, forward, left, right, left, until he could no longer keep track of them. They were taking him to the Malfoy tombs, where his parents were... buried.

I have to accept this. I have to accept that Mum is dead. he thought. Tears already flowed. He hated crying. He had seen it on all of those people he had brought back to the Manor. It reminded him of them, and he hated that. Despised it. Today, though, he let the tears flow, knowing he couldn't stop them.

Finally, he saw the big white tombs looming ahead of him. He passed the resting places of many ancestors before finally reaching the joint tomb of his mother and father.

'Mum... I miss you so much. So much. I still don't... I know, you had your heart broken, but... God, I miss you. I love you so much. So much..' He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Too many tears had dropped already, so he held them in as he dropped to his knees and conjured a bunch of roses and placed them in front of his mother's tomb.

He moved over to his father's half of the tomb, and his fists curled into balls. 'Father. You've done so much wrong. You controlled my life, you abused me, forced me to be someone I'm not. You even followed a maniac who preached killing and death as right. I should hate you, but.. I love you. I love you, Father. You're my dad, and no matter how bad you were, I still love you. I hate the things you did, but I wanted to tell you I forgive you. I forgive you for not being the dad I needed. I forgive you for the things you did. I just.. need some time. I'll show you though, Father. I'll live my life right, and even if "right" isn't the way you wanted me to live, I think you'd be proud of me. I love you.'

He considered for a moment before creating a statue of a serpent, very shiny and very Slytherin.

Draco lifted himself off his knees, stared at his parents' tomb for a moment before bowing his head slightly, turning on his heel and leaving. He was ready to return to Hogwarts.

On September 1st of each year, there would arrive a lot of very strange people at Kings Cross Station. These people were always dressed strangely, in cloaks and the like. Many of them carried owls- _owls!_ Why on Earth would anybody carry an _owl_? Over the years, the station guard had learned to disregard these people, letting himself to be slightly bemused by them as they passed by.

What the guard _didn't_ know was that the three people that had just walked past him were responsible for saving his life, along with all of his friends' and family's lives as well. These people were Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.

'... and we finally managed to get that doxy infestation out as well! We're working on the portrait of Mrs Black, but she seems to be warming to us.' Harry said optimistically, continuing his tales of the de-infestation of his and Ginny's new home, Grimmauld Place.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow. 'Mrs Black? Warming to people?'

Harry grinned. 'Well, she's stopped calling me a 'disgrace even to the race of filthy muggles' and moved to 'cankerous wart''

The three of them laughed, then Hermione asked, 'So, how's married life treating you?'

'Great! I love Gin so much, and...'

'AAH! STOP! NO! DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS!' said Ron urgently. His two companions burst out laughing.

'I'm disappointed that Gin didn't return to Hogwarts though.' frowned Hermione.

Ron and Harry groaned. 'Hermione! My sister is playing Quidditch for the Wimbledon Wasps! Playing. Quidditch. For a living!' Ron said, urging that clearly Quidditch was the best thing anyone could do ever.

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'But her education, Ron!'

Harry gave a short laugh, and when Hermione gave him a quizzical look, he said simply, 'That is the most Hermione-ish thing I've ever heard.'

Hermione laughed slightly too, but fell silent as they approached the entrance to the platform. She turned to Harry and Ron.

'Um, guys, have they blocked the press here?' Hermione questioned, hoping with all her might that the answer would be yes. The wavy- haired girl hated getting her picture taken.

To my dismay, Harry shook his head. 'McGonagall tried to prevent them from coming, but since the station is technically public property and the press all want to get pictures of the "Golden Trio"', he gestured with bunny ears, 'they couldn't be stopped. Sorry.' he replied.

Hermione took a deep breath. 'Well, we might as well get it over and done with then...'

As soon as they stepped onto the platform, lights were flashing everywhere.

'MISS GRANGER! MR WEASLEY! MR POTTER! OVER HERE!' came the calls from the reporters everywhere. The three friends ducked their heads and filed through the dense crowd, until they finally reached their destination- the train.

Each breathed a sigh of relief as they finally found a non-crowded carriage, and sat down, finally able to breathe and talk freely.

Harry sighed. 'These reporters! They're so annoying! They've been following me and Ginny around all holidays!'

'Harry, I know they're annoying you, but they're people too. They've got to make a living, and the whole wizarding world wants to catch a glimpse of you.' Hermione said softly.

'I know, but sometimes...' he replied.

Hermione patted him on the back. 'I know.'

'Hey, look what I taught Pig to do!' said Ron, off in another world as always. Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, zommed around his head twice before diving for Ron's hand, missing, and crashing into the seat. 'Pig!' Ron scolded.

Harry and Hermione cracked up laughing. _This is going to be a good term_, thought Hermione.


	2. Chapter Two- News

Draco looked around in wonder as he walked into the Great Hall. _When had this happened?_ he thought.

The Hall had been totally re-done. There weren't any house tables! Instead, there were seven tables, two larger than the others. They all had numbers from 1-7 on their tablecloths. Draco couldn't figure out why they'd done this. _House tables always have worked fine... Except, they haven't really, have they? Every house has been so separate, always. I bet this is Dumbledore's doing._

He shivered as he thought of the man he had been so close to killing. _I hope he's forgiven me_, he thought, staring up at the ceiling.

It had been his third task, killing Dumbledore. Each Death Eater-in-training had to complete three tasks before they could become a full Death Eater; a domination task, a torture task, and finally a murder. They represented the three unforgivable curses. If you failed to complete any of the tasks... you were very, very lucky if you were allowed to live. Luckily for Draco, the Dark Lord had contented himself with hours of torture instead.

Draco remembered those first two tasks very clearly, though. The first, he had taken control of some muggle that Voldemort had taken a stronger dislike to than normal. His reasoning for this dislike? 'He wears too much red.' Such reasons for dislike were common; had you the wrong colour hair, skin, clothes or eyes, or the wrong parents or home, woe betide you. The young man was forced to make the muggle run away from home to a place that he knew nothing about, do things... that no one should ever do.

His second task, of torture, had been worse. He'd been made to take the children- _children!_-of Igor Karkaroff, after he was killed for leaving Voldemort. Apparently death wasn't a bad enough punishment... His daughters had been only seven and eleven at the time. They were later passed to his father to be killed.

The tall student shook his head. _No. I won't think of that. This is my new start._

Just then, Draco felt a tap on his shoulder. 'Blaise!' he exclaimed, smiling.

The dark man beside him smiled. 'Drake. How are you? Didn't catch you on the train.'

'Yeah, sorry about that. Just about got mutilated by Pansy when I had to tell her_ again_ that we were broken up.' Draco grinned.

Blaise laughed. 'God, when will she get the message?'

Draco groaned. 'Stop, I can't take it any more!'

'Which is exactly why I won't stop!'

At that moment, McGonagall stepped into the noisy room and instantly everyone was silent. Even the most raucous students were quiet for the Headmistress.

She coughed before amplifying her voice. 'Welcome to all of you. As you can see, there has been some change in the seating arrangement. In order to promote house unity, you will be seated in your year levels. The two larger tables are for years one and seven, as both of these will have larger year groups after the war. Please be seated before I give you some notices.'

The noise picked up again as everyone sat.

'Why is the first year larger?' asked Blaise

'Because, during the war lots of parents didn't want to send their kids to school. Duh.' replied Draco.

'All right, all right.' muttered Blaise.

At the table, both encountered a slight problem- their table had a seating arrangement. And Draco was seated next to-

'Granger!' he moaned. 'And Scarhead!'

Blaise flashed his pearly whites at Draco. 'Sucks to be you. I got Astoria Greengrass and Theo Nott.'

'Why do you get to sit with friends and I have to sit with the bloody Beaver and the Boy-Who-Refused-To-Die?!' Draco whined.

Zabini ignored the question and simply said, 'Goodbye, Mr 5-year-old.'

McGonagall amplified her voice again. 'Be seated! Everyone sitting? Good.' she said, casting an amused glance at the boy with flaxen hair who was sitting huffily between two of Gryffindor's finest members. Her mood, however, turned quickly serious again.

'Now, as you all know, many of the people seated here today fought in the War, and saved the lives of all of us. Were it not for them, we would now be under the control of Voldemort. However, many didn't make it back from the War. They sacrificed their lives for us, and I think we should have a minute of silence in their honour.'

Everyone in the hall bowed their heads, and tears were shed by those who had lost loved ones in the War.

After a minute, the headmistress cleared her throat and said in a considerably thicker voice, 'Now, as you all know the wizarding population was decreased by two thirds during the War. The Ministry has passed a new law. It will effect all of you, but the seventh years the most... However, the rest of you will learn in time what this law is. Seventh years will be required to stay behind after the meal in the Great Hall to be informed of what this law contains. For now, though, we will eat, and to quote a great wizard: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'

The older students in the school laughed, but many half-heartedly. They were all worried about this new law, and what it would mean. McGonagall hadn't seemed happy about it at all. In fact, she wasn't. Minerva had tried repeatedly to tell the Ministry that this wasn't the solution, but her words had fallen on deaf ears. _Surely there are different things they can do! _thought the headmistress. _They can't just take away their childhoods like this! _

She cast her eye over to the seventh-year table. _Oh, if only they knew what they are about to get into..._

Hermione fretted as she watched the younger years leave, their eyes burning with curiosity. If only she knew what the law was!

Deep down, she thought she did know. Hermione couldn't bring herself to think of it. The only thing the Ministry could do, if they were worried about wizarding population...

_No! They can't do that! They just.. They can't! None of us are ready!_

She hoped, for the first time in her life, that she was wrong.

McGonagall cleared her throat as she stood up to the podium once more. She knew that this would be one of the hardest things to do. Ever.

'I must confess to you that I have not been completely honest with you as to why I've changed the seating this year. While it will be good to promote interhouse unity... it is mainly to accommodate you with this new law.'

'The law is called the Legem Praegnationis, or...'

'Pregnancy law.' whispered Hermione. Everyone turned their heads to look at her, her whisper audible in the silence.

McGonagall sighed. 'Yes, the new law is indeed a pregnancy law.'

The students were silent for a long moment before the reactions broke out. The couples in the room looked at each other worriedly, but they weren't nearly as concerned as those not in a relationship. Harry looked worriedly at Hermione. He engulfed her in a hug. 'Hermione... don't cry. Everything will be okay.'

Hermione looked up at him. 'Harry, I don't even have a boyfriend! How am I supposed to raise a child on my own? And what about my career, my education? I'm not ready!' Harry hugged her tighter. 'Mione, do you really think you'll be raising this kid on your own? I'll be there, Ron will be there, Mr and Mrs Weasley will be there... we'll get through. I promise.'

Hermione was still sobbing. _I really need my parents right now._

McGonagall looked around at the devastated students. _What the Ministry was thinking, I'll never know... _she thought sadly.

She spoke again. 'Now, you will not be raising children alone. You will be paired after you take two examinations- one written and one oral, under the influence of Veritaserum.'

'The children will be concieved with a pregnancy potion. This induces accelerated pregnancy, so each pregnancy will take roughly three months. Because there will be a greatly increased amount of births, the potions will be given to you throughout this term to reduce the load on the hospitals.'

Minerva sighed. 'I must say... This is not what I wanted for any of you. I realise that this will affect your lives greatly. All of the staff from Hogwarts have tried to stop this law. The Ministry would not listen, however...'

'The most we can do is try to make this easier for you. So, all of you will share a dorm for the first week. After your partners have been confirmed, you will be living together in a magical community. Every family will get a house in this village, but the house sizes will vary depending on your and your partner's grades, as in the real world the people with higher grades will live more comfortably. There will also be a selection of shops in the village, as in real life. We are trying to create the most realistic experience for when you live outside school, as you will be required to live together for the first eleven years of your child's life in order to give the children healthy childhoods. You will also be required to take a parenting class once partnerships have been assigned.'

'Any breaking of any of these rules and there will be severe consequences, including being stripped of your magic. And... I believe that is more than enough for tonight. Please remember that I and all of the other teachers are more than willing to talk to you about any concerns, and once again I am truly sorry.'

Hermione's head was spinning. 'Hermione, are you okay? You're very pale.' said Harry concernedly. It sounded to Hermione like he was talking underwater.

'I'm.. fine..' she replied, her own voice seeming distant. Her head was spinning.

'Hermione!' was the last thing she heard before everything went black.


	3. Chapter Three- Surprises

Hermione awoke a few hours later in the hospital wing to find Ron, Harry, and to her surprise, Ginny. She looked up dazedly.

'Gin?'

'Hermione! Are you okay?' asked Ginny worriedly.

'Yeah, I guess... Why are you here?' Hermione questioned.

'McGonagall owled me to tell me about the law. She said I'd have to come back, seeing as I'll be paired with Harry.'

Hermione frowned. 'How can you know that you'll be paired with Harry?'

Ginny laughed, seeming embarrassed. 'Uh, well... I guess you'll find out soon enough...' She glanced at Harry and the two of them had expressions like naughty schoolchildren.

Ron looked confused. 'But... Why?'

Harry and Ginny laughed again very quietly. 'I... Uh... Because we're living together?' Harry made it sound like a question.

Ron seemed satisfied with this, but Hermione was even more confused. _Something is definitely going on there._ She didn't press the subject though, as Harry and Ginny were obviously trying to hide something from Ron.

Hermione sighed. 'Look, we've got to do something about this law. We can't just take it lying down! They're forcibly controlling our lives! I can't believe Kingsley would do this!'

Harry looked at her sadly before saying, 'We know. I already went to talk to Kingsley. Hermione, it's a lost cause..'

Flashback

The Boy Who Lived looked around the Ministry lobby nervously before stepping out of the grate. His mouth was dry as he walked over to the visitor's desk.

'Hi.' the witch at the desk said in a bored tone, not looking up. 'State your name, age, occupation and reason for visit.'

'Um, I'm 17, a student, I'm here to see the Minister about the new pregnancy law-'

The witch behind the desk snorted. 'Good luck getting in to see him!' she said, finally looking up.

Then, her jaw dropped.

'You're- you're- you're- HARRY POTTER!' she yelled.

Harry internally groaned. He hated this kind of attention. Everyone stopped in their tracks at the yell of the girl, even the most serious looking of the workers. Cameras started to flash, many came up to shake his hand, a chorus of unorchestrated sounds rose to a forte. Finally, Harry heard a familiar voice behind him.

'Harry!' said Mr Weasley. 'Come on, we'd better get you out of here.'

Harry allowed himself to be dragged by Mr Weasley until they arrived at the office door of the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.'

'Now Harry, you must understand that I can't get you in like this any time you please, but since I know that it's Kingsley's dinner break and that your meeting is obviously about the new law-'

'You knew about the law? Why didn't you tell us?' Harry accused angrily.

'I only found out when you did, son.' Mr Weasley sighed.

Harry felt terrible for accusing the ginger-haired man then. 'I'm sorry, Mr Weasley, I'm just worried.'

Mr Weasley gave him a reassuring pat on the back. 'No need to worry, Harry, I completely understand. And remember I'm here for you any time you need a father.' he smiled.

Harry gave the man who had always been like a father to him a big hug, whispering, 'Thanks, Mr Weasley. That means a lot.'

Arthur smiled and said, 'You're welcome, kiddo. Now, you just need to get in there and say what you need to say. Good luck.'

Harry took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard Kingsley's deep voice boom, 'Come in.'

Harry stepped into Shacklebolt's office.

The sight that greeted him was surprising. He had always imagined Kingsley to be a neat, orderly person... but his office clearly showed the opposite. Papers were splayed all over the large mahogany desk that stood in the centre of the room, books were open on Kingsley's seat and there were memos flying everywhere.

'Harry. How are you?' Kingsley said. 'Sorry about the mess.' he added placidly.

'Er, that's alright.' replied Harry. 'I'm well, thank you, yourself?'

'Very well, thank you Harry. Now, not to be rude, but what brings you here tonight?'

Harry shifted nervously. 'Well, Minister-'

'Kinsley, please.' smiled the man.

'Well, er, Kingsley, it's about the new pregnancy law.'

Kingsley's expression turned into a frown. 'I see.'

Harry continued uncomfortably. 'A lot of my friends are devastated, you see, and we just.. we don't think it's fair to us. We're still kids!'

Kingsley sighed. 'Unfortunately, Mr Potter, I am unable to do anything about this law.'

Harry felt angry. 'But you're the Minister! What were you even THINKING? You HAVE to-'

Kingsley held up a hand to silence the boy. 'I did not devise this law, Potter.'

Harry was silenced. 'But...'

'The International Wizarding Government has control over this law. This government was devised before the War, in foresight of the damage it would cause. Rufus Scrimgeour was on the panel, not me. However, they had no choice. You don't understand. We told you that two-thirds of the wizarding population had passed... However, in England this is not true. We had the worst amount of killings... 80 per cent of the population died.' he said heavily.

Harry's head was spinning. He felt devastated. He'd only been able to save twenty per cent of the population! _I... I failed. How could I do this to them? I could've done more! I could have saved them!_

His devastation must have shown on his face, because Kingsley stood up and walked over to Harry. 'There is nothing- _nothing_- more you could have done. If it weren't for you, the only people left would be Death Eaters and Voldemort.'

Harry nodded, tears brimming. Kingsley said gently, 'If not everyone has a baby, Harry, wizards in England will die out. If we don't force everyone to have a child, the wizarding population will slowly dwindle until it is non-existent, because everybody will not necessarily have a baby otherwise and such a small percentage marry muggles or are muggle born. The smaller the population gets, the more closely related everyone gets, and therefore there will be more chance of squibs. We just can't afford that. We don't want to die out, Harry.'

'Nevertheless, I do disagree with this law. I am so sorry. I do think you are too young, but unless there is a dramatic increase in the population immediately... we will become extinct.'

END FLASHBACK

'So... it really is unavoidable. It really is going to happen.' Hermione whispered.

She still couldn't believe it. _Me, a mother at seventeen! A mother!_

__Tears started to fall again, so Madam Pomfrey ushered the three friends. 'Out! You've had far, far more time than you should! Out! Now!'

Harry, Ron and Ginny grumbled as they left, but had to go before Madam Pomfrey gave them detentions.

Poppy walked over to Hermione to see if she was alright, but the girl was already asleep.

Hermione awoke with a start the next morning. The first thing she realised was that she was not in her dorm room. The second thing she realised was that it was far too light for her liking.

She checked her watch. _8:10! How did I sleep in so late? I've got to get to class!_

Madam Pomfrey looked over and realised that Hermione was awake. 'Good morning, Miss Granger.' she said softly. 'How are you feeling?'

Hermione looked up. 'Fine, but Madam, I've got to get to class! It starts in ten minutes!'

Pomfrey stood. 'Now, Miss Granger, I am not having that! You-'

Hermione started talking over her. 'But Madam Pomfrey! You must let me go, you simply must! Please! Please?' she said frantically.

Madam Pomfrey hesitated, and then said reluctantly, 'All right, but-'

'Oh thank you Madam Pomfrey!' Hermione said, rushing over and giving the medi-witch a quick hug around the middle and running out of the hospital wing.

Poppy stared after her. _Well, I never..._

__Hermione grabbed an apple from the seventh-year table that was now empty and ran off to her first class, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

_Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I can't be late! I've got five more flights of stairs to climb and I've only got two minutes! Whatever will the new professor think of me?_

__Two minutes late and breathing heavily, Hermione arrived at the classroom finally. She gritted her teeth as she looked at her watch. Hermione detested being late.

She pushed open the door and began to say 'I'm so sorry, Professor, I was down in the-'

Then her jaw dropped.

_Bill?!_

__**A/N Hello everyone! My name is Ailsa (obviously). Thank you so so much for reading, favouriting, alerting, and reviewing! It means a lot to me. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but there you go. :) This story is also on my account on Wattpad, in case you're wondering, so I'm not copying someone else's story! Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter Four- Classes

Bill grinned at Hermione. 'Hello, Hermi- I mean, Miss Granger. Please take a seat, your situation has been explained already and we were just about to start.'

Hermione took a seat, suddenly overcome with a desire to laugh. She had looked at Ron beside her, who had a 'what the bloody hell is going on here' expression on his face. Clearly, he had no idea Bill was coming to teach. He suddenly snapped out of his speechless state and found his voice.

'WHAT THE HELL BILL?'

Bill smirked. 'That's Professor Weasley to you, Weasley.'

Ron looked like he was about to explode 'I'M NOT BLOODY CALLING YOU PROFESSOR! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE!'

He seemed to be having a minor panic attack of some sort.

Bill looked like he was about to burst out laughing. 'Ten points from Gryffindor, Won-Won, for your insolence. And, I got bored of curse breaking, ickle Ronniekins.'

'YEAH WELL I'M TELLING MUM ABOUT THIS!' Ron shouted.

That was it. The whole class burst out laughing.

'You- you- you wouldn't tell Mum!' Bill replied, a look of pure terror on his face.

Which, of course, only served to make the class laugh even harder.

'Oh, but I would.' smiled Ron, thinking he had won.

Bill looked incredibly frightened. Then, smiling in victory he said, 'Fine. Everyone can call me Bill.'

Ron ears were scarlet and he looked like he wanted to punch something, but he accepted defeat and sank down beside Hermione, muttering, 'Bloody git!'

All in all, Hermione thought that was a pretty good DADA lesson. After all, that was possibly one of the most entertaining conversations she would ever witness. Once the lesson had started, though, Bill was all business. He had taught them about banshees, and how to properly fight them off. Bill had also given them all a course outline and a foot-long essay on merfolk and their interactions with humans to be handed in two days later. He had said to them that they needed a lot of re-teaching of the basics because of the 'interrupted education' they had been given.

Everyone's minds, however, had not been on the lesson they had been given but the next class they were to take. It was their first Life class nest, where they would have to sit the written tests and told what the class was about. Everyone was buzzing with nervous energy.

'Hello Draco.' Draco heard a dreamy voice come up behind him.

'Uh, Luna. Hi! Long time, no see.' Draco replied, confused to see his second cousin and old playmate. He internally groaned. He didn't dislike Luna, he just wasn't in the mood.

'I know. Must be the work of the Wrinklesprouts.' Luna replied hazily.

Draco didn't have time for this. 'Yep.' he replied, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

Luna frowned. 'I don't like the new law much. At all really. But Daddy and I did the maths of the whole thing, and if we don't all have children, the wizarding race will eventually die out.'

Draco frowned. 'What's maths?' he asked the girl who looked surprisingly like him.

'Oh... it's a muggle thing. My mother taught me when I was small.'

He nodded. Luna's mother had been a half-blood, a fact that had been concealed from the Malfoy family for a surprisingly long time. When his father had found out, though, he immediately disowned his cousin and forced him to change his name.

'Well, guess that explains it.' said Draco.

'Yes.' replied Luna. 'Goodbye Draco!' she said abruptly.

'Bye.'

Blaise came over to him and whistled lowly. 'That girl is weird.'

Draco merely nodded.

Hermione felt slightly sick as she walked towards the new classroom on the seventh floor. She knew that once she entered... everything would become real. She would have to take the tests, she would have to be partnered with someone she might not even _know_, she would have a baby.

_Baby. _The word had been echoing in her head for a while now, and she still couldn't get around it.

_I just... I can't believe it. I'm not in a relationship, the baby won't have proper parents! I don't have a job, how will I provide for it_?

Hermione took a deep breath. She knew that she just had to face it now. She'd always wanted kids.. she was just going to have one sooner than she thought.

Harry looked at Ginny and took her hand as they walked into the classroom.

'Harry, how are we going to tell Ron? And now Bill's here too! They're going to kill me when they find out!' Ginny exclaimed worriedly once she had made sure that they were in the middle of the noisy crowd.

'No.' Harry grimaced. 'They'll kill me.'

Suddenly, they were in the classroom. 'I wonder who the new teacher will be! This class is going to be so much fun!' she tittered suddenly. Harry rolled his eyes. Ginny's mood swings were really getting out of hand...

Draco sighed as he walked into the classroom. He'd been dreading this class forever.

_Oh, what a great life this kid's gonna have! Unemployed dad! No grandparents! Parents don't even love each other! Yay!_

He supposed he would just have to get this over with. He looked around the room to see if he could see any obvious couples. _Scarhead and Weaslette, obviously. And probably the bloody beaver and the ginger. Bet they'll be happy with that. They'll all be able to play happy families._ Draco thought sourly.

He knew he was being unfair, but he'd been in a funk ever since he'd heard the news about the law, and that put him in even more of a funk. After all, bad moods reminded him of his old self, and Draco hated that.

Suddenly, the new teacher walked into the classroom.

'Sit down, please, class.' said a horribly familiar voice.

_Oh, no._

Harry blinked twice, not quite believing who the teacher was. _Andromeda Tonks? But I thought she was looking after Teddy!_

A tug on his trouser confirmed that Andromeda was, indeed, looking after Teddy.

Harry smiled down at the small child. He still couldn't speak very well, but the metamorphagus had morphed his hair into a miniature version of Harry's and he'd tried to mimic Harry's scar, which hadn't worked very well. Teddy now had a strange red mark on his forehead.

Harry's face lit up. 'Hey, Ted! How are you honey?'

Harry's godson started to babble slightly. 'Ha- Hawwy!'

The collective 'Aww!' from the class reminded him where he was. Embarrased, Harry picked up the child and took him up to Andromeda.

'Thank you, Harry. Now, class, before we begin, my name is Andromeda Tonks, or Professor Tonks to you. I will be the new Life Class teacher.'

'Now, as you know, there has been a new law instated by the ministry that will make every female from 17-35 have a child by the end of this year, or in some cases, early next year. It is my job as your teacher to fully explain to you what this law entails, how to work through issues with your partner, how to care for a child and general life skills like cooking and cleaning. First, though, today I will be giving you the tests that you will have to work through tonight in order to find a suitable partner for you.'

She paused. 'Look, I'm... I'm so sorry about this. There's nothing we can do. All of the teachers from Hogwarts have tried already. We just can't. This was the only thing we could do...'

_Oh, Merlin. She sounds so much like Mum... _Tears pricked at Draco's eyes. _And I don't even know her properly! She's the one who hugged me through the whole funeral... _Draco suddenly realised.

'Blaise!' Draco hissed.

'Yeah?' Blaise muttered back.

'That's my aunt!'

Blaise's eyes widened. 'Really?'

Draco nodded. 'Oh fuck. Blaise, she sounds like Mum!'

The dark man's eyes softened. 'Drake, it's okay. Don't worry.'

Suddenly, Susan Bones handed them a sheet each and they muttered their thanks.

Andromeda called the class to attention again. 'Now, I'll give this one to you to fill out tonight. While there are certainly some personal questions on there, it is of the utmost importance that you answer them completely truthfully. The second test will be conducted tomorrow, and it will be under the influence of Veritaserum.'

The class tittered at this. _Veritaserum? They're invading our privacy! _thought Draco.

'I know this is all very rushed, but.. there is no choice. Now, I think it would be best to let you go early... to process it all. I will be available till the end of the assigned lesson time, however, to talk to any of you about anything. I really mean anything, please don't worry. Anyway... class dismissed.'

Most of the class got up to leave immediately, except for Harry and Ginny, who looked around nervously before going up to the new teacher. They cast a privacy charm before they started talking to the woman.

When they told Andromeda their news, her eyes went as round as saucers- or perhaps Luna's.

**Okay, so yeah. I didn't know how to end this chapter. And I'm really sorry that I've taken so long to update, but I'll probably only be able to update once to twice a week.**

**I'm pretty sure it's blatantly obvious what's going on with Harry and Ginny, but... oh well.**

** First reviewer gets a cupcake!**

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**Ailsa xx**


	5. Chapter Five- Run-Ins

**A/N I'm so sorry, I had a big flute exam and I've been on holiday and having formatting issues with this story- it never saves the italics or enters properly. Anyone know how to fix this? Anyway, enjoy! I know it's short but I'll try and get another one out soon.**

Hermione sighed as she sat down in her usual corner of the library and opened her paper. It was the test that Andromeda had given them a few hours before. She frowned as she looked over the first few questions._ Question One_, the paper read._ What is your favourite colour?_ 'Huh?' Hermione said aloud. _What on Earth does that have to do with anything?_

'Huh what, Hermione?' asked a masculine voice beside her. She turned to see Harry standing at her side. 'What does this have to do with our partners?' Harry looked thoughtful, then grinned. 'No arguments over decor?'

Hermione slammed him on the head with a book, but laughed. 'Honestly though, Hermione, the questions get weirder.

Look-' he reached over and grasped her paper, '_Question Eight- What is your favourite constellation and why?_ Seriously! It's like they're deliberately trying to give us the oddest questions they can think of!' Harry threw his hands up in the air. 'Anyway, I was letting you know that Gin, Ron and I were going to get some supper. Want to come?'

Hermione shook her head. 'No thanks, I've really got to finish this. Sorry!' she added, although she wasn't really. Hermione just wasn't in the mood for socialising.

'Okay then, I thought as much.'

Harry replied. 'Just... Do try to relax a bit, alright?'

Hermione nodded. 'Have fun!'

'Yeah, I will... Bye Hermione.' He said, still concerned.

Hermione's eyes drifted back to her paper as her friend exited the library. She thought for a moment before she carefully wrote _Blue_ in the box underneath the first question. Sighing as she realised there were fifty questions, she settled down for a long night.

xoxoxoxoxo

Draco, on the other hand, was sitting alone in the Slytherin common room after telling everyone to bugger off. He'd felt good about that, because he'd needed something to let off steam. The young man did feel a tiny bit guilty though, but he ignored that, figuring if they'd really wanted to stay they would have. He opened up his test paper and began to read. _Question One_, the paper read._ What is your favourite colour?_ Draco took his head in his hands.

_What sort of idiot thinks that colours have anything to do with bloody compatibility?_ As he progressed though the paper, he began to get in an even fouler mood before. _What the HELL do 'favourite chair styles' have to do with this? This is my entire future and my child, and they're basing it on CHAIRS?_ Draco stood, snarling.

Blaise entered the room whistling, but as soon as he saw Draco, he stopped abruptly.

'What's got you all riled up, Drake?' he said, alarmed.

'This bloody paper! What the HELL do any of these things have to do with kids and marriage? CHAIRS, BLAISE, CHAIRS!'

Blaise took a step back. 'First off, they said nothing about marriage-'

'And you expect ME to live in a de facto relationship? THERE ARE STANDARDS!'

Blaise remained calm. 'And secondly, this isn't the only test we're taking. The second test will be much more important. We need to leave here, Draco. We'll come back later, but right now, you're being like the old you. I know you're tired, but this isn't how you want to be, okay?'

Draco blinked, suddenly seeing that Blaise was right. 'I'm.. I'm sorry...' he said quietly, sitting down again.

Blaise nodded. 'Finish it, then we can go to the kitchens, okay?'

'Okay.'

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hermione exhaled in relief as she finally finished her paper. She'd been looking forward to finishing it. As she looked at her watch, she jumped as she realised it was 10 o'clock already. _Ten! How is it that late already?_ Her stomach grumbled, and she realised how hungry she was. _I guess I'll go down to the kitchens, I don't think that everyone would be down there still._ While she approached the portrait to enter the kitchens, she noticed two boys going in. More cautiously, she entered a few seconds later. As soon as she walked in, she wished she hadn't.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Draco made his way down to the kitchens beside Blaise. It was always uncomfortable after Blaise had to calm him down. _I just can't help these outbursts... I don't know what's wrong with me._ He sighed. His companion looked up, eyebrow quirked in a silent question. Draco waved his concerns away.

They finished the rest of the walk in silence. Draco grinned as he entered the busy kitchen. House-elves were everywhere, still working into the dark night.

'How can we help you, Masters Malfoy and Zabini?' a small house elf asked.

'Could we please have some snacks? I'll have some ice cream and Malfoy'll have...' Blaise trailed off, looking at Draco expectantly.

'Just a green apple please.' Draco replied, ignoring Blaise's roll of the eyes.

'You and your green-'

The tall man stopped talking as he heard the portrait open. Looking around, curious, he set eyes on none other than-

'Granger.'

Hermione stared back at Malfoy, stony-faced. 'Malfoy. Zabini.'

She kept her distance and her eyes averted as she talked quietly to one of the house-elves on the other side of the room.

Draco looked at her. He had to admit, even if she was a mud- _muggleborn_, she wasn't too bad to look at. _Of course, anyone would look good next to the likes of Pansy, _he thought.

'Draco.'

The blond-haired man snapped his head around upon hearing his friend's whisper.

'You can stop staring at her.'

Draco's eyes narrowed after flickering open for a second in surprise. 'What do you mean?'

Zabini scoffed quietly. 'You damn well know what I mean, you haven't stopped staring at her since she came in.'

'That is NOT true!' Draco whispered back, voice starting to raise slightly.

Blaise smirked 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.'

'What?' Draco said, not understanding.

'It's from... You know what, don't worry.'

'Okay?'

'She's gone now, anyway. So tell me, what was up with your little staring game?'

'I repeat, I was NOT staring at her!'

Blaise looked bemused. 'Keep telling yourself that.'

Draco scowled.


End file.
